To Each Her Own
by Steph5
Summary: Bad dates, makeovers, town meetings and advice from Lorelai…there’s just something oddly endearing about a (third-string) townie with a crush. The story continues.
1. Default Chapter

To Each Her Own

By Steph 

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.

Backstory of sorts: My favorite GG characters are townies. My favorite scenes on GG are townie-related. And since my last two fics also had elements about these two characters, I realize that I must now admit to being a full-fledged A/G shipper. Between her reading his mail and the fender bender reenactment scenes, I think that something is going on between those two. I have found out that to some extent I am not alone. I find a lot of comfort in that. This is a (for now) two part fic. The second part is already written and will be up in a couple of days. Some of the ideas came from some very talented and supportive people at TWoP. Thank you for letting me take your ideas and run with them. Now all we need is a ship name.

Summary: Bad dates, makeovers, town meetings and advice from Lorelai…there's just something oddly endearing about a (third-string) townie with a crush.

* * *

Part 1 

Lorelai walked determinedly toward the town square where Miss Patty and Babette were standing.

She had been wanting to ask Miss Patty something all day and now she was finally going to have her chance.

"Hey, Patty," Lorelai called cheerfully. "Hey, Babette."

"Hey, sugar," Babette warbled before she turned away. Miss Patty and Babette were both looking straight ahead. No, staring straight ahead. Lorelai looked in the same direction. She didn't see anything.

"What's so interesting?" she asked.

"Will," Babette and Patty chorused, practically swooning.

"Who?"

They pointed out a man, maybe in his late thirties. Tall, dark hair, very good looking.

"He's only been in town for a few days," Babette said. "And he's gorgeous. Gorgeous!"

"He's a banker too. And he drives a Jaguar!" Patty chorused.

Lorelai laughed. "Sounds like quite a catch. Is it time for a new husband, Patty?"

Patty waved her hand dramatically. "He's not interested. Believe me, I've tried."

"Is he married?" Lorelai asked.

"Nope," Patty said. "No girlfriend either."

"All these girls are just throwing themselves at him," Babette said, shaking her head.

"He just doesn't seem interested in any of them," Patty said. "The only woman I've seen him talking to is Gypsy. They were deep in conversation a few seconds ago."

"Huh," Lorelai said. "The Jag giving him problems?"

"Shush," Babette said. "There they are again."

The three of them watched as Gypsy walked back over to him. Will and Gypsy talked for a little bit before Will pulled out his cell phone.

"She's giving him her number!" Babette shrieked loudly.

"Good for her," Lorelai said.

"I think he's asking her out," Patty said a few seconds later.

They watched Will grin at Gypsy (and he had a slow, sexy smile, they all had to admit) before walking away.

"Only one way to find out," Patty said. "Come on."

The three of them walked over to where Gypsy was standing. Miss Patty clutched at Gypsy's arm.

"Tell me everything."

"Everything?" Gypsy asked looking alarmed.

"About the dish!" Babette said. "You gave him your number!"

"Sure," Gypsy said. "He's having car problems."

Patty and Babette looked skeptical. Lorelai smirked. "Liar."

Gypsy shrugged. "Okay. I'm lying. He asked me out for this weekend."

Patty gasped. Babette grabbed Gypsy in a tight, uncomfortable looking hug. "Oh congratulations, sweetie. Where's he taking you?"

"I don't know for sure," Gypsy said disentangling herself from Babette. "He mentioned Au Printemps."

"That's fancy," Miss Patty said. "French."

"I figured," Gypsy said dryly.

"What are you wearing?" Babette asked. "You need something really girly."

"Yeah," Gypsy said. "I'll have to go to the mall and find something."

Patty nudged Lorelai. Actually, she almost shoved her. "You've got such wonderful style. You should take her shopping and help her pick something out."

"Well…"

"It's okay," Gypsy said quickly. "I'll just go after work and find something."

"Oh you two will have so much fun," Babette exclaimed. "I would love to go too."

"Well, let's go then," Patty said. "The four of us will go tonight and we'll find something."

Lorelai looked over at Gypsy. She didn't look too enthused about the whole idea. Lorelai could sympathize; she wasn't too enthused about going shopping with Patty and Babette either. And although she had nothing against Gypsy, the two of them had never been close, never socialized or anything.

But still shopping was shopping. And she would definitely be able to steer Gypsy away from some of the wilder suggestions Patty and Babette might go for.

"Sure," she said. "Tonight's fine with me."

* * *

After two hours of dress shopping, Lorelai was impatient, Babette and Patty were frustrated and Gypsy…

Well, Gypsy was a little irritated. Nothing was really looking good on her. Which was unfortunate because Will was handsome and he actually seemed to like her.

And how long had it been since a handsome man had liked her?

Lorelai handed her another dress. "Try this one on," she commanded.

"Last one," she told her. "If this doesn't look good, I'm saying to hell with it and wearing a pair of overalls."

Lorelai grinned. "I'll call your bluff. Trust me, this one's the one."

Inside the small dressing room, Gypsy again disrobed and put on the dress. It was red and sleeveless. Just above the knee. Not bad, she had to admit.

Not bad at all.

"What's taking so long?" Babette said.

She opened the door. No one said anything. Which sucked, because Gypsy kind of liked this one.

She sighed. "I'll go change."

"Don't you dare," Patty said. She stood up from her folding chair. "Turn around."

Feeling like an idiot, she obliged.

"You look wonderful, honey," Babette said.

Gypsy turned to Lorelai, who had been her harshest critic all night. Say you like this, she prayed, so I can go home.

"I think you should buy this. The dress looks great…" Lorelai began.

"But..?"

"The ponytails aren't doing the dress any favors. What does your hair look like down?"

"Not great," Gypsy admitted. "Especially when it's been in ponytails all day."

"Let me see what it looks like down."

She frowned, but figured the sooner she did this, the sooner she could leave.

"It's an improvement," Lorelai said. "Do you ever curl your hair?"

She shook her head. "Not really. I don't own a curling iron."

"I do," Lorelai said. "Why don't I come over before your date and do you hair? I'll bring Sookie and we can do your makeup too. How does that sound?"

"Like a great idea," Miss Patty interrupted.

"Definitely," Babette said. "She's a wonder with the hair and makeup. Don't even think about turning down her offer."

"Okay," she said reluctantly.

She hoped it wouldn't be that humiliating.

* * *

"Bye," Sookie called to her husband. "We'll be back soon."

"Back in time for the town meeting," Lorelai promised.

"Where are you going?" Jackson asked.

"To Gypsy's," Lorelai said.

"Something wrong with the car? Cause I could fix it."

"Oh, honey," Sookie said. "That's sweet, but no you couldn't."

"We're going to play dress-up," Lorelai said. "Help her get ready for her date."

"Who's she going out with?"

"Will," Sookie said. "The hot new bachelor in town."

"Really?" he asked. "Huh. And I always thought she had a thing for…" He stopped mid-sentence.

"Who?" Lorelai and Sookie asked in unison.

Just then Davey started crying. "I'll get him," he volunteered. "Have fun."

"Who was he talking about?" Lorelai asked Sookie when they walked over to Gypsy's.

"Beats me. So we have everything?"

"Makeup, hair stuff, curling iron. We have everything."

"Good," Sookie said. "Let the makeover-ing begin."

* * *

"Wow," Gypsy said looking at the huge amount of cosmetics spread out in her bathroom. "That's a lot of makeup."

"Well, you won't be wearing all of it," Lorelai said reassuringly.

"I know," she said. Then she sighed. "You know I do wear makeup. And I do dress nicely occasionally. I mean I don't dress up for work of course, but I do know how to do these things for myself."

"I know," Lorelai said. "I wasn't saying that you didn't."

"Sometimes it's nice to have someone do your hair and makeup for you on a big date," Sookie said. "Lorelai did the same thing for me when I had my first date with Jackson."

"Really?" Gypsy asked, sounding somewhat hopeful.

"Yep," Lorelai said. "And now they're married. Trust me," she said picking up a makeup brush. "I know what I'm doing."

* * *

Crap. This was the third time this week his car wouldn't start.

He sat inside the car and put the key into the ignition again. The car made an odd, screechy sound.

That was not a good sign.

And he had to do errands tomorrow. Out-of-town errands. He really needed his car working.

He got out of his car and began the four block walk to Gypsy's.

* * *

"So, what's left?" Sookie asked.

"Let's see," Lorelai said looking at Gypsy. "We have the makeup done, the hair curled…"

"The dress on," Gypsy volunteered.

"The dress on," Lorelai agreed.

The doorbell rang.

"He's early," Sookie said. "Really early."

"Go down," Lorelai said. "I need to finish spraying her hair."

"More spray?" Gypsy asked skeptically.

"I'll entertain him," Sookie said, grinning.

* * *

Sookie walked downstairs. She hadn't met Will yet, but had heard wonderful things about him.

Well, wonderful things about his looks.

Hey she was married, not dead. She could still look.

She opened the door and saw…

Andrew?

"Andrew?" she asked surprised.

"Sookie?" he asked just as surprised.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"She's ready," Lorelai called walking over. She looked at Andrew in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"I had a car question," he said. What was so awful about that?

"You had a car question?" Lorelai repeated.

"You had a car question tonight?" Sookie asked.

"Yes," he said. "Is Gypsy even here?" Should he be getting worried?

Lorelai and Sookie met each other's eyes. "Yes, she's here."

"Well," he said. "Can I talk to her?"

"Talk to who?" he heard another voice say. Gypsy. Finally.

"What are you doing here?" she asked sounding surprised.

"He had a car question," Lorelai answered.

He was actually grateful for Lorelai answering for him, because he suddenly forgot what he was going to ask her. Some part of him knew that he shouldn't be staring at her like that, knew that it wasn't polite, but she looked so different.

Her hair wasn't in the usual ponytails, but it was down and curly. And she was wearing makeup.

And a red dress with heels. Any second now, he would stop staring. Any second now.

"Hey you know what?" Sookie said. "Andrew's a guy."

He broke out of his reverie for a second. "Yes," he confirmed.

"So we should get a guy's opinion on how she looks," Sookie said.

"Way to put him on the spot," Lorelai said.

"Way to put me on the spot," Gypsy muttered.

"Well, how about this," Sookie suggested. "We'll leave now. Andrew can ask her his car question and then he'll leave. And you'll still have plenty of time."

"Okay," Gypsy said. "Thanks for all this."

"You're welcome. We'll want to hear everything."

Once they had left, Gypsy turned to Andrew and smirked. "So you didn't get the chance to answer. How do I look? Overdressed, silly, clownish…?"

"Hot," he said, before he could stop himself.

She looked at him strangely before smiling, looking a little embarrassed. He felt pretty foolish himself.

"Sorry," he said quickly. "That was probably inappropriate."

"No, that was nice," she said. "Now what was your car question?"

He didn't remember. He stared at her dumbly for a second before lowering his eyes. To her legs.

He shouldn't be looking. Inappropriate.

He raised his eyes slightly. Very slightly.

Shit. Cleavage. Something he really shouldn't be looking at.

Doubly inappropriate.

"Okay," she said sounding amused. He met her eyes guiltily. "Now that we have our eyes in the right place…"

"Sorry," he mumbled. And he was.

"I'll ask you again. Car question. Yes or no? I'm in a hurry. He'll be here in a few minutes."

Of course she was going on a date. Why else would she be all dressed up? He should have expected that. Still the idea left him with an unexpectedly bitter taste in his mouth.

"Who are you going out with?" he asked.

"His name's Will," she said. "He's fairly new to the area."

"Oh."

"Do you know him?"

"No," he said frowning. Then he stopped. What was wrong with him? Was he jealous? Why would he be jealous?

"Well, now we have that out of the way, do you have a car question or not? Cause I'm really in a hurry."

"I'll be quick," he said. Very quickly, he described what was going on. She tilted her head and gave him a suggestion.

"Thanks," he said. "I'll try that."

"Okay," she said. "If it doesn't work, give me a call tomorrow and I'll take a look at it."

"Thanks," he repeated. He walked outside.

"Hey," he said. "Have a good time."

She grinned at him. "I will," she said confidently.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, sitting in the oh-so-romantic French restaurant, she realized that she was not in fact having a good time. She was having a horrible time.

Will was kind of a jerk.

And she couldn't wait to go home.

* * *

Once home, she took off her dress and shoes and changed into jeans and a sweater. It was still early and she felt restless.

She decided to walk to the town meeting.

* * *

"Ow," Lorelai said glaring at Sookie. "Why did you pinch me?"

"Look," Sookie said. "Gypsy's here."

"Here?" Lorelai asked turning around in her seat. "That must have been quite a date."

"Poor thing," Sookie said. "Does she looked distressed?"

Lorelai turned around to get a better view. She wasn't wearing the dress anymore, but her hair was still curly and ponytail-less and it looked like a lot of the makeup was still on. She didn't, however, look distressed.

"She looks okay," Lorelai said. "We'll talk to her after the meeting."

* * *

"No big story," Gypsy said. "He was just kind of a jerk."

"So I guess there's no second date?" Sookie asked sounding disappointed.

"Nope," Gypsy said. "It's okay though. I'm okay. Really."

"Well you did look great tonight," Lorelai said. "If it's any consolation."

"It is," she said. "Sort of."

* * *

"Have you met my girlfriend? This is Lulu, my girlfriend. Lulu, this is Andrew," Kirk said.

"I've met her several times already, Kirk. Hey, Lulu. How's it going?"

"Fine thanks," she said smiling. "Good turnout tonight."

"I guess," he said distractedly. He had a lot on his mind. Car problems. A bizarre lingering feeling of jealousy. Car problems were much easier to deal with. "Hey, you two don't know anything about cars, do you? I'm having car trouble."

"Nope," Lulu said. "Sorry."

"You should just ask Gypsy," Kirk volunteered. "She's right there talking to Sookie and Jackson."

He turned, surprised. Kirk was right.

"Wow, her hair looks great," Lulu said. "Did she have a date?"

"Yes," Kirk said solemnly. "With Will. That new guy."

"Do you know him?" Andrew asked, trying to keep his voice casual.

"He's really handsome," Lulu said. "Looks like he should he on the cover of some magazine."

Kirk frowned. Lulu patted his arm.

"Oh," Andrew said. For some reason, he really didn't like hearing that about Will.

"Don't be jealous. You are far superior to him," Lulu said.

He met her eyes shocked at both her realizing that he was jealous and the bizarrely intimate tone of her compliment, before he realized that she was talking to Kirk.

Of course.

He really needed to get home.

* * *

She was talking to Sookie and Jackson when she felt someone's eyes on her.

Oh. Three pairs. Andrew, Kirk and Lulu were all staring.

Great. She knew she should have washed off a few layers of the makeup.

She gave the three of them a phony Miss America style wave. They all innocently waved back.

Maybe she should give them all the finger.

She said goodbye to Sookie and Jackson about the time Andrew was saying goodbye to Kirk and Lulu. She walked over to him.

"How's the car?"

"I think it may be a hopeless case," he said.

"Maybe, maybe not," she said. "I'll come by tomorrow and take a look at it."

"Great," he said. "I'd appreciate that."

* * *

He didn't quite know how it happened, but he ended up walking her home. He didn't want to pry, but a part of him had to ask.

"So how was your date?"

She sighed. "I think the fact that I showed up at the town meeting is a good indication of how the date went."

"Sorry," he said. And he was. Sort of.

"He was a jerk," she said. "He seemed so nice and normal before. But one of the first things he told me on the date was that he had never met a 'girl mechanic' before. That's what he called me. A 'girl mechanic.' So that should have been the first sign that he was a prick. Then he told me he doesn't think it's classy for girls…and he used the term 'girl' again…to have tattoos. And I have one."

He coughed. "You have a tattoo?" he asked, trying not to sound too interested.

"A little one. On my ankle. The dress I was wearing showed it off and apparently he didn't approve.

"And then," she continued, "he started talking about his car. His Jaguar. He's very proud of his Jag and very very proud of himself for having one. So proud that he felt the need to recite facts and statistics about his car, forgetting momentarily that I was a 'girl mechanic' and knew more about cars than he did. So when he got some of his facts wrong, I told him. He really didn't like that."

"So I'm guessing you won't be seeing him again."

What was with him today? Why was he so happy that her date had ended so badly?

She grinned. "Good guess."

* * *

And then they were at her house.

She looked up at him.

She knew it was strange, but she had always had a bit of a crush on Andrew. She didn't know why.

Admittedly it had never been a huge weight on her mind. She had had dates, boyfriends, and she knew that he had had girlfriends.

Like that Liam Neeson-loving dance partner of his.

Man, she had always hated that bitch.

She guessed that part of the reason she had never done anything, never made a move was because he had never given any indication he had ever felt the same way.

So she kind of ignored her stupid little crush and hoped it would go away on its own.

But tonight it was weird. Tonight he was weird.

Tonight he was staring at her, staring and ogling and telling her she looked hot.

That was weird.

And he had walked her home and he asked about her date and he had smiled and looked almost relieved when she told him that she wouldn't be seeing Will again.

He wasn't jealous, was he?

Nope, she told herself. Of course not.

He was so shocked at seeing her dressed up that he stared, he was a gentleman so he walked her home, he was her friend so he was interested in how her date went.

She looked up at him and wondered what it would take for him to kiss her. Wondered what he would do if she kissed him. She swallowed.

"I should get going," he said abruptly, leaving her to wonder if he had somehow guessed her thoughts.

"Okay," she said, disappointed. "Thanks for walking me home."

"No problem," he told her.

"I'll come by tomorrow," she promised again. "And look at your car."

"Great," he said. "Thanks."

She watched him leave and then went inside.

To be continued…


	2. Ch 2

To Each Her Own

By Steph 

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.

Summary: Bad dates, makeovers, town meetings and advice from Lorelai…there's just something oddly endearing about a (third-string) townie with a crush.

* * *

Part 2

The next morning she looked at the red dress hung up in her closet.

It really was beautiful. But it wasn't cheap. Between the dress, the shoes and the earrings, she had paid a pretty penny for last night's outfit.

And it had been wasted on a jerk off like Will.

She reached out and touched the soft fabric. She thought, as she had repeatedly since last night, about Andrew's reaction.

Maybe, she thought, uncharacteristically optimistic, the dress, maybe last night had been worth it.

Maybe it hadn't been wasted.

She had been going back and forth in her head about what his reaction had meant. Wondering if she should ignore the whole thing or do something spontaneous.

Like ask him out.

But another problem was, even if he was interested in her (and she didn't know that for a fact), would it be worth the whole town knowing their private life? She liked to think of herself as a fairly private person; no one had known much about her previous boyfriends.

But everyone knew Andrew. Miss Patty and Babette knew Andrew.

She thought briefly of Lorelai, who had recently begun a relationship with Luke. They had a whole town meeting debating the merits of the relationship.

Gypsy could think of nothing more embarrassing, although she had to admit that the whole thing was amusing to her at the time.

She wouldn't be amused if she was suddenly the center of attention.

But Lorelai was still seeing Luke. Even after the town meeting. So it must be worth it.

Maybe Lorelai would have advice. Not that she was thinking that far ahead. She wasn't even sure if Andrew had any feelings for her whatsoever.

But still it might be good to talk to Lorelai. For advice.

Yes, that's what she would do.

* * *

"Hey," Lorelai said later that morning. "What's up?"

"I wanted to return some lipstick that you left at my house," Gypsy told her.

"Oh, thanks," she said. She looked at Gypsy.

Gypsy looked…conflicted.

"You okay?"

Gypsy muttered something that sounded like "I know I'm going to regret this" before saying, "If you aren't too busy, I was wondering if I could get your advice on something."

"Sure," Lorelai said. She loved it when people asked her for advice. "Makeup? Hair? Fashion?"

"Men," Gypsy said plainly.

"Oh," she said. "Okay. Want some coffee?"

"Sure," Gypsy said gratefully.

Lorelai poured her a cup and watched Gypsy across from her. "Is it about Will?"

"Will?" Gypsy asked, snorting. "Definitely not Will."

"Okay."

"It's about….well I guess I wanted to ask you…when you started dating Luke, was it bad? Having everyone knowing everything about you? Was it embarrassing?"

"It was," Lorelai admitted. "When I walked out of his apartment into the diner in just his shirt? Why am I telling you? You were there. Laughing at me."

"Yeah, that was pretty funny," Gypsy said. Then she imagined herself in Lorelai's place. What if she was caught half dressed walking out of the bookstore?

That didn't even make sense.

Andrew didn't live in the bookstore. They wouldn't be having sex there.

They'd be having sex somewhere else.

Sex with Andrew. She let herself ponder that for a second.

"I guess what I'm trying to ask you," Gypsy said after her mind had cleared, "is is it worth it? Having everyone know? Is dating Luke worth dealing with Taylor and Patty and them being involved?"

"Definitely," Lorelai said. "And something more interesting eventually will happen taking the attention off the hot couple du jour."

"Okay," Gypsy said. "Thanks. I definitely have a lot to think about."

"Where do you think you're going?" Lorelai asked.

"Um…back home?"

"I don't think so. Not without telling me who you're interested in."

"I'm not interested in anyone."

"I think you're lying. No, scratch that, I know you're lying. You asked my advice and I gave it to you. And if I know who in the town you're crushing on, I can better tailor my advice. Tailor. It's not Taylor, is it?"

Gypsy rolled her eyes. "No. Definitely not."

"Tell me."

"Nothing to tell."

"Tell me or I'll tell everyone that you do have a crush on Taylor and you're ready to make your move."

"Fine," Gypsy said. "I was thinking of asking Andrew out." Now it was out in the open. It made the possibility seem more real.

Lorelai looked at her for a second in surprise before giggling. "I'm sorry," she said, still giggling. "I'm really sorry."

"What's so funny?"

"Andrew Andrew. Andrew in the bookstore."

"That's the one."

"But he's so…" Lorelai continued laughing. "He just seems so boring."

"I don't think so."

"I mean, sure, he's a nice enough guy, but you really find him attractive?"

This was bad. "Yes," Gypsy said defensively.

"He's just so blah. Nothing interesting about him."

"I disagree," she said in an even voice.

Lorelai continued laughing. "I'm sorry for laughing. I just don't see you two together at all. I mean…come on. You and Andrew?"

Gypsy gave Lorelai a tight smile and said, "You know Lorelai, I've hit people for less."

Lorelai stopped laughing. "Sorry. I'll be good."

"I mean," Gypsy said, "I personally think that dating Luke would be like watching paint dry in all its excitement. But to each her own."

"Point taken," she said. "But I think you should go for it."

"Like hell you do."

"No, that was wrong of me to laugh. I apologize. When will you see him next?"

"This afternoon. I'm going to look at his car."

"Okay," Lorelai said. "Good. Ask him out. Here's my advice. Ask him out in a very casual way and see how he responds. That way you can sort of get out of it if you don't think he's responding the way you hope."

"That makes sense," she said reluctantly.

"Well, keep me updated," Lorelai said.

"Yeah," Gypsy said sarcastically. "Definitely."

* * *

"It's bad, isn't it?" he asked her.

Well he asked her legs. The rest of her was under his car, poking and prodding at things. He knew absolutely nothing about cars.

"It's not good," she replied. At least that's what he thought she said. Her voice was muffled. "But I'll keep working at it."

"Thanks," he said.

When she had gotten to his place, she had been acting a little strangely. Not really looking at him when she was talking. Not really listening when he was talking.

She knew, he thought. She had figured out why he had been acting so oddly jealous last night.

Which was quite a feat, because he hadn't quite figured out why.

Still under the car, she said, "Hey, let me ask you something."

"Sure."

She said nothing and he heard only the rhythmic sound of something against something (again -- he knew nothing about cars).

Finally she said, "Are you doing anything Saturday night?"

He was. What was going on Saturday though? Oh right. "Taylor's having an emergency meeting. That's right. You were late for the last one and you missed his big announcement. There's some kind of new zoning codes and he says if you're a business owner, it's mandatory. You should probably go too."

"Oh," she said. "Okay."

A few seconds later, she said, "I have another question for you."

"Shoot."

"I was wondering…maybe after the meeting…we could go get something to eat or something."

He didn't say anything. Did she just ask him out? Or did she mean just like a post-meeting, anti-Taylor rant session?

She continued to work on the car. He continued mulling this over.

Maybe he should figure out what she meant exactly.

"Did you just ask me out?"

Nothing but silence. Apparently, she had put down her tools.

"No," she said after a second.

"No," he repeated.

"Yes," she said.

Now he was confused. And tired of talking to legs. "Will you get out from under the car for a second?"

She did. "Your car needs to be put to sleep," she reported to him as she stood up. "I can keep trying to tinker with it, but it will cost you. It might be cheaper to just get a new car."

None of that registered with him. "You just asked me out."

She brushed some hair out her face. "Kind of. Was that bad?"

"I don't think so," he said.

"Well look," she said, "I have to get back and do some paperwork. Saturday's awhile away so just give me a call either way. I can sell you a used car, but if you want a new one I know some people who could get you a good deal."

"We can go out," he said. "After the meeting."

"Are you sure?"

"I think so," he said.

"You're sure?"

"Yes," he said. And he was. Sort of.

* * *

"Wow," Lorelai said hanging up her cell phone. "That was Gypsy."

"What did she want?" Sookie asked. She handed the empty jar of baby food to her husband.

"You'll never guess who she has a date with this weekend."

"Will?"

"Nope."

"Andrew?" Jackson guessed.

Lorelai stared at him in surprise. "How did you ever guess that?"

"He's right?" Sookie asked. "You're right?"

"He's right," Lorelai confirmed.

Jackson shrugged. "She's been into him for the longest time."

"How do you know that?" Sookie asked.

"I've been friendly with both of them for twenty plus years. You pick up on things."

"Well then," Lorelai said. "Good for her."

"Yeah," Sookie agreed. "Good for her."

* * *

Saturday night arrived and he hadn't called to cancel. Which she took as a positive sign.

She looked at herself in the mirror. She wasn't as dressed up as she had been for her date with Will, but she wasn't wearing jeans either.

Long denim skirt, white sweater, sandals with a heel and jewelry. A little bit of makeup. She had borrowed Lorelai's curling iron again.

Not bad.

Nothing to do now but wait.

* * *

He walked over to her house. He was in the process of buying a new car, but hadn't finalized any decision yet.

He had dressed up slightly. Black pants, gray sweater.

He wondered if doing this was a mistake. He still wasn't 100 sure if he was interested in her as anything more than a friend. He thought of tonight as sort of a trial date.

If they decided they wanted to pursue something, they might attempt a real date.

A trial date. He kind of liked the sound of that.

* * *

The town meeting was a bore.

Taylor was a bore. And a fascist.

On and on he went about all these new papers that had to be filled out. I's needed to be dotted, T's needed to be crossed. Everything needed to be triple checked.

He was half asleep listening to Taylor. People all around him were murmuring their dissent. He should say something.

Gypsy stood up. Andrew looked over at her. Finally this was going to get good.

Her rant wasn't long and it certainly wasn't eloquent, but it was blunt and to-the-point and by the time she sat down, Taylor looked shaken. Her rant set the stage for Luke's even longer, more insult-filled rant.

"That was nice," Andrew whispered his voice full of admiration.

She looked at Luke who was still yelling. "Luke has more of a personal vendetta against Taylor. His tirade will be the one remembered."

He hoped she wasn't feeling down on herself, because she had definitely left Taylor quaking. He suddenly, oddly enough, felt very close to her, a good thing he supposed, because they still had a trial date to go on.

"I'll remember your tirade," he reassured her. "And you look much better in a skirt than Luke does."

"I'm really hoping you're not speaking from personal experience," she said. But she smiled at him softly.

And then, just like that, he was looking forward to the trial date.

* * *

The problem was deciding where to go to dinner. They would either have to walk somewhere or walk back to her house to get her car and then drive somewhere.

He really needed a car.

"I'm starving," she told him. "I vote for walking."

"Where do you want to go that's in a one-mile radius?" He suddenly wished that Stars Hollow had nicer restaurants.

"We can just go to the diner," she said. "We're standing right in front of it."

"Is that okay?" he asked.

"Fine with me," she said. "Okay with you?"

"Fine with me," he said.

The diner, cheap, informal, full of people they knew, the perfect place for a trial date. For their real first date, he would take her to a nicer place.

And that sort of freaked him out. When had he decided that they would have another date?

* * *

It was weird being on a date in the diner.

She came here several times a week. So did he. Everything was so familiar, from Luke and Lane taking orders, to the menu, to the people.

Fortunately, the diner wasn't that crowded and Miss Patty and Babette weren't there so they would be able to eat in peace.

And then the door to the diner opened.

Taylor.

"Oh, good good," he said placing himself in the booth next to a surprised looking Andrew. "I've been looking for you," he said to her.

Crap, she thought to herself. "This isn't the best time," she said.

"I know you weren't too happy about the new zoning laws, but I want you to know that it really is in the best interest of the town. And," he said to Andrew, "this will really help that bookstore of yours. I mean especially where your place is located."

Taylor continued to talk. He would not leave. He kept talking. Andrew looked pained.

She, on the other hand, was beyond pained.

"Although," Taylor said, "I do have some suggestions for your bookstore. I've received some complaints."

She groaned. Now Andrew looked outraged. "Complaints? What are you talking about?"

And as they began to argue, she became invisible. Was this how the date was going to end? She couldn't let her first date with Andrew end before it began.

Andrew wasn't even looking at her.

It was time to do something drastic.

She slipped her foot out of her sandal. And then, while neither of them were looking, she did something drastic. She quickly touched her foot against Andrew's before gently placing her foot inside his pant leg, letting it lightly touch his bare leg, letting it linger somewhere near his ankle.

He suddenly coughed, his cheeks coloring at the intimate contact. She removed her foot immediately and slipped her shoe back on. He looked at her, his eyes dark and interested. She smiled at him sweetly.

"Where is Luke with our water?" Taylor asked, apparently not having any intention of leaving.

But that did give her an idea.

She needed an ally. Someone who hated Taylor as much as she did at the moment.

She needed Luke.

* * *

"Hey, Luke," she said.

"Hey," he said. "Nice speech at the meeting."

"Back at you. Hey, if I give you twenty bucks will you make Taylor go away?"

He looked intrigued. "You mean forever? I don't think I can do that. But I'm sure you could find a good hitman."

"Not forever," she said. Although that did sound appealing at the moment. "Just now. Get him away from my table. There's a cool twenty in it for you."

"He bugging you?"

"You have no idea," she said.

"I hate that," Luke said, sounding angry. "He comes in here, my place of business and starts harassing my customers…"

"Ruining their dates…" she said.

"You're on a date," he said.

"Yes."

"Okay," he said nodding. "Tell you what. I'll do it for free."

"Thanks a lot."

"I'll even do you one better than that."

"Yeah?"

"I'll give you a two-for-one deal. Not only will I get rid of Taylor, I'll get rid of Andrew for you too."

She laughed. "Don't go crazy there. Just Taylor."

"But I thought you said you were on a date."

"Yes," she said speaking slowly. "On a date."

"And you want to be alone with your date," he said to her, just as slowly. "So I will get rid of Andrew for you."

"I don't want you to get rid of him, Luke. Think about it."

"You're on a date with Andrew?" he asked looking surprised.

"Yes," she said. "Doesn't your girlfriend tell you anything? Or have you already started tuning her out?"

"You still want Taylor gone, don't you?"

She grinned at him.

* * *

A few seconds later, Luke came over to their table. "Hey, Taylor," he said. "Someone said something about some kids doing some graffiti near your store. Maybe some vandalism too. I'd get over there as soon as possible."

Taylor stood up angrily, throwing down his napkin in disgust. "This is ridiculous. We just repainted. I will not stand for this." He stormed off.

"He may spend the rest of the night standing guard over the store," Luke advised them. "Or he may see nothing and come back here. So I'd recommend that you two go sit at a table with only two chairs."

"Thanks," she said.

"Thanks, Luke," Andrew said.

She was happy that he sounded as relieved with Taylor leaving as she did.

Now the fun would begin.

* * *

The date went fairly well, she had to admit.

They spent a lot of it bashing Taylor and some of his ideas mentioned at the town meeting. They wondered if anyone had actually complained about Andrew's bookstore.

They debated going over to Taylor's market and vandalizing it themselves.

They eventually decided against it.

She was definitely enjoying herself and didn't even get mad when Lorelai came in and gave them a big unsubtle thumbs-up sign.

And that was saying something.

* * *

The date went fairly well, he had to admit as he walked her home.

They were talking about dreams. She was telling him one about being attacked by fierce-looking angry donuts and he was laughing so hard that he didn't even realize that they were standing in front of her house.

"Well," she said.

"Well," he repeated.

"That was fun," she said.

He agreed. Neither of them moved. He had a sudden sense of déjà vu. It had only been a week since he stood outside her door after her date with Will. And he had walked her home then too.

And she had watched him then too just like she was watching him now.

He had wondered last week why she had looked at him like that. Now he knew.

He thought of how much fun he had on the date. He thought of how he responded when she was doing her footsie routine.

He made a decision, closed the small distance between them and kissed her.

He was a good kisser, she realized instantly.

Unfortunately he stepped away from her too soon.

Way too soon.

That wouldn't do at all.

She kissed him this time. Kissed him and sighed as he pulled her closer to him. He smelled really good. They broke away from each other before he leaned in to kiss her again.

Oh yeah, she thought. That was much better.

"I have to go car shopping tomorrow," he said after the fourth kiss. "Want to come?"

"Sure," she said, her voice slightly hoarse. "We'll get you a good one."

He smiled at her, a nice, content smile.

She watched him leave and then went inside.

The end


	3. Ch 3

To Each Her Own Part 3

By Steph

Rating: R for language and some slight smut

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.

Author's note: I love writing these two characters. I have no idea why. I had thought that the previous chapter would be the end of the story. I was wrong. This is a long chapter and there is some smut in it. Don't say I didn't warn you. Thank you for all the reviews and kind words.

* * *

"I brought you some coffee," she told him, handing him a Styrofoam cup from the diner.

He accepted it gratefully. "Thanks. You didn't have to stay."

She shrugged. "I wanted to see the reenactment."

It was three weeks after their successful first date. Since then, she had gone with him to buy a car where she had alternately flirted with and bullied the dealer, who was apparently the second cousin of her ex-boyfriend, leaving Andrew with a car he never would have been able to afford on his own.

The weekend after that they went out again - a much nicer place than the diner. They had enjoyed themselves. During the week, they had met for lunch when they were both free. He had brought her some books that he thought she might like. She came out today to watch the reenactment.

It was a very relaxed sort of dating, he thought to himself, as the two of them sat there drinking their coffee in silence. But they were definitely dating, he thought, remembering last night, walking her home after another Taylor-initiated town meeting.

He also remembered how last night, outside her place, he had kissed her and had wrapped his arms tightly around her. They had really enjoyed themselves then too.

"Hey," she said, interrupting his thoughts, "can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," he said. "What's up?"

"I ran into Sookie and Jackson today. She asked me if I was buying a new dress, because she and Lorelai were going today and I was welcome to join them."

"A dress for what?" he asked, confused.

"That's what I asked," she said softly. "Next weekend is the dance marathon. Jackson said you always enter them."

"Oh," he said.

"Sookie said that since I was seeing you, she just assumed that we would be going together. And Jackson said that maybe you didn't ask me to be your partner because you were using a ringer so you'd win this year. That's what Kirk does."

"Oh," he repeated. That was just great. He hadn't even given the Dance Marathon a second thought.

Sure, he usually went when he was dating Lisa. But they entered for different reasons. He entered because he could be very competitive and he had wanted to win; she entered because she liked to start very public arguments with him about very mundane things. They had been on-again, off-again for several years, usually reconciling around the time of the annual marathon.

But this last year was enough for him. He had been okay with her telling him that he should be making more of a profit with the bookstore; he had been okay with her telling him that she had dated Liam Neeson.

Well not okay with it exactly, but they always made up eventually.

Last year, she had been in her little ruffly dress and he had been in his marathon soldier outfit (not to be confused with his reenactment outfit), when she turned to him and told him how sexy she thought his younger brother was.

He had broken up with her and hadn't given much additional thought to the marathon. He couldn't even imagine Gypsy wanting to participate in it.

"I didn't think you'd be into it," he replied honestly.

"Well, I've never done it before," she said. "But you're right. I probably wouldn't be into it."

"Oh," he said. Damn Jackson and Sookie. "I was just going to try to ignore it this year. Bad memories."

"I understand," she said standing up. "Well, I have to get back to work."

He stood up as well. "Thanks for the coffee. I'll give you a call tonight."

"Sure," she said and walked off.

* * *

"What were you thinking?" he asked Jackson and Sookie later.

"I'm sorry," Jackson said.

"Really sorry," Sookie said. "It was stupid. Is she mad?"

"No," Andrew said. "She didn't seem mad. She said she probably wouldn't be into it anyway."

Sookie frowned. "She was probably just saying that."

"I don't think so," he said.

"No, Sookie's probably right," Jackson said. "She's mad at you."

He was about to protest again when he realized something. After the reenactment, when they were sitting and talking, she hadn't kissed him goodbye. Since their first date, she had always kissed him goodbye.

"Damn," he said under his breath. He looked at both of them. "Thank you again for all your help."

They apologized once again. He told him they owed him big. They agreed.

* * *

Some days, like today, she was glad that she was a mechanic.

Glad that her work environment was pretty solitary, glad that she was able to work with her hands and take out her frustrations on someone's poor, misbehaving vehicle.

It's not that she wanted to enter that stupid marathon. Being on her feet for 24 hours sounded like a nightmare. You'd get tired and hungry and cranky. Very cranky.

On the other hand, holding on to Andrew for 24 hours? That she might not complain about.

Actually, ever since Sookie and Jackson had mentioned it to her, she did kind of want to enter the marathon.

But he didn't ask her. Because he wasn't even thinking about it. Because he didn't think she would be into it.

She frowned and distracted, made a rookie mistake, and ended up with a face full of foul-smelling oil. Perfect. She slid out from under the car and wiped the gunk out of her eyes with a rag. God, how did it get into her hair? What a day.

"Hey."

She turned around at the familiar voice. Of course, he would be here now. She had just been slimed.

"Hey," she said. She pulled her hair out of the two ponytails and tried to dab the offending oil out of it. Not too successful.

"What happened?"

"Nothing," she said. She tried to ignore the fact that she looked and felt disgusting. Maybe he wouldn't notice.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to go to dinner tonight. There's this place I wanted to try."

Well, at least he didn't look too disgusted at her appearance. She had to give him credit for that.

Even if she was still a little annoyed at him.

"Okay," she said.

He ran his hand through his hair looking nervous. She noticed that he often looked a little nervous around her. She hadn't quite figured out if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"I'm sorry," he said. "For earlier today. It wasn't anything to do with you. I didn't even realize it was this weekend."

"Okay," she repeated. "I suppose that I'll forgive you."

"Good," he said smiling at her. "So tonight? About seven."

"Sure," she said. "I'll have taken four showers by then."

"I'll see you then," he said smiling.

And then she decided to take a chance. "Hey, Andrew," she said. "Want to be my dance partner for the marathon? I'm competitive and I'll have no problem tripping other couples."

"I don't think that's legal," he told her. "I think we would be disqualified."

"Then I won't do it," she said. "I guess we'll have to win based on merit alone."

He looked like he was considering it. Finally he nodded. "Okay."

"Great," she said. "I'd kiss you now if I wasn't covered in slime."

He laughed. "I'll take a rain check for tonight."

She nodded. "You got it."

* * *

When he came to pick her up for the marathon a few days later, she couldn't help but laugh at his soldier outfit.

"Do you wear that every year?" she asked.

"Every year," he said. "There's sort of a retro theme to the marathon."

"Oh," she said. She looked down at herself. She was wearing the same red dress that she had worn a few weeks ago on her ill-fated date with Will. In fact, she had her hair curled like that night too.

The only difference was that she had traded her heels for sensible flats.

She was planning on being on her feet for 24 hours, after all.

"Will they let me in like this?" she asked him half-seriously.

"There's no dress code," he said.

"I wanted to buy a new dress," she told him. "But unfortunately I had to make a decision between buying a new dress or having heat this month and I chose heat."

He smiled at her. "I think you look beautiful."

She smiled back at him. "And you look wonderfully retro," she told him.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Definitely," she said.

* * *

Once they had finished checking in and having their physicals, they sat on the benches waiting for the marathon to start.

"So," she asked. "Do you have any tips? Any words of advice for lasting 24 hours?"

"Well, I haven't lasted all 24 hours yet, but I do have some tips," he said.

"I'm all ears."

"Don't worry about other couples. Don't worry about looking stupid. If they're playing a fast song and you feel like dancing slow and conserving your energy, dance slow. Keep hydrated. I've brought drinks. Oh and food."

"What do you have?"

He opened his backpack. "Granola and energy bars. Trail mix. Dried fruit. Gatorade."

She grinned. She loved how dorky and prepared he was. "What else?"

"Luke's selling coffee if you get really drained. And we'll need to talk."

"Talk?"

"We'll need to talk so we can stay awake. Even if it's about stupid things. Chit-chat. It helps to pass the time too."

"Got it," she said. "I know you said not to worry about anyone else, but I want to know. Who're the people to watch out for?"

"Kirk and Donna. They win almost every year. Lorelai's pretty determined too."

"Isn't Luke selling coffee though?"

"According to Jackson, Lorelai is dancing this year with Mark, a college student who works part-time at the inn."

"College student? Luke's not going to come storming the dance floor in a jealous rage, is he?"

"Apparently Mark's boyfriend is here to cheer them on. So I doubt it."

"Okay then," she said. The buzzer buzzed.

"So," he asked as they walked to the dance floor. "If we win, can we share custody of the trophy?"

She laughed. "I'm sorry. Did you just say if we win?"

"When we win."

"Yes," she said. "And I'll even let you have it the first week."

* * *

The first hour went fairly smoothly. Like every other year, the band started off with fairly upbeat numbers meant to tire the dancers out.

"How're you doing?" he asked her after the first few songs had passed.

Forty-five minutes in. Twenty-three hours and fifteen minutes to go.

"Great," she said. "Cake walk."

During the first slower song (twenty-two hours and fifty minutes to go), she lifted her head from his chest to see Kirk giving her a dirty look.

"Why is Kirk looking at me that way?" she asked him.

"Trying to psych you out," he said. "Close your eyes."

She did and rested her head back on his chest. She could do that. He smelled so good.

"You know that I could kick Kirk's ass, right?" she asked him.

"Easily," he reassured her. "You could probably kick my ass too."

"Without even breaking a sweat," she promised.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later they were given a break. They stepped away from each other and headed back to the benches to sit down and reload.

He was about to hand her a Gatorade (still cool thanks to the chemical ice pack he had packed alongside) when he looked up to see some guy headed over to them.

He didn't know who the guy was, but he was walking toward them determinedly. A man on a mission. Maybe he wanted a drink too? Hmm. Andrew hadn't brought enough to share.

"Hello," Andrew said to him, unsure.

"Hello," the man said. "Hey, Gypsy."

She looked up from the trail mix. She had been picking out the MMs. "Oh hey, Will."

Will? Andrew thought to himself looking at the guy. This was the guy she went out with? He remembered what Kirk and Lulu had said about Will. About how good looking the guy was.

They weren't kidding. Andrew was a happily straight man, but even he had to admit that the guy was handsome.

"I wanted to tell you something," Will said to Gypsy.

Gypsy popped an MM into her mouth. "What's up?"

"That's Amelia," he said pointing out a blonde in a tight blue dress. It appeared that poor Amelia

was getting lectured by Mrs. Kim.

"Thank you," Gypsy said. "Consider me informed."

"It's our first date and she's having a good time."

"Again," Gypsy said. "Thank you for that."

"What I'm trying to say is that having a good time with her, made me realize that we didn't have a good time. Which was kind of my fault. So I'm apologizing to you for…"

"Being a dick?" she asked with a smile on her face.

He looked embarrassed. "Yes. I suppose. Sorry."

She shrugged. "That's okay."

"Good," he said. "I'll leave you two alone. See you later, Gypsy." He nodded at Andrew. "Soldier."

When he walked back to Amelia, Andrew turned to look at her.

"So that's Will," Andrew said neutrally.

"That's him," she said. "That was nice of him to apologize."

"He's nice looking," he said because he couldn't leave well enough alone.

She took another MM. "I like you better."

* * *

"Another couple just collapsed," she said gleefully. Twenty-one hours to go.

"Good," he told her. "How are you doing?"

"Not collapsing," she promised. Then she decided to be honest. "I am starting to feel a little tired though."

"Anything I can do?" he asked.

She closed her eyes again, concentrating on the feel of his hand on her back guiding her. She remembered what he had told her earlier. They needed to talk.

"Talk to me," she said.

"Anything in particular you want me to talk about?" he asked her.

"Hmm…if you didn't own a bookstore, what would you want to do?"

He answered her quickly and enthusiastically. "Teach history. I love history. That's why I love participating in the reenactments."

"Huh," she said. "And I always thought it was because you liked wearing the little outfits."

* * *

He needed to stop babbling about history. He knew that not everyone shared his fascination; in fact, there was a strong possibility that he would put her to sleep.

It was time for her to talk.

"So," he said. "Why did you become a mechanic?"

She opened her eyes. "What?"

He frowned. It was not a good sign that he had to repeat himself. "Why are you a mechanic?"

"Oh," she said. "Well, my parents didn't have enough money to send me to college and I didn't have good enough grades to get in through a scholarship. I had worked at my uncle's garage every summer since I was kid and I loved it. And I was good at it. With cars. So I eventually took over."

"Do you ever wish that you did something else?"

She appeared to consider this. "Sometimes. I mean it's not the best money and sometimes it's kind of lonely. Although Kirk did ask me once if I would consider hiring him. He said that he wanted to buy a car someday and it would be nice if he could learn how to fix the car if something were to go

wrong."

He laughed. "You aren't going to hire him, are you?"

She shook her head. "Nope. It's not that lonely."

* * *

About thirty minutes later, he tried talking to her again.

"So why the ponytails?" he asked.

This time, she didn't even bother lifting her head. Instead she mumbled into his chest. "Ponytails?"

"Ponytails. I've known you for what, twenty years now, and I think last month on your date with

Will was the first time I had seen you with your hair down."

"I don't want my hair in my face when I work," she said. "And…well it's just easier for me. And it sort of became my thing."

"I like the ponytails," he said. "But," and he reached out and stroked one of her curls, which was beginning to droop slightly. "I like this too."

"This is not an everyday look," she said. "But maybe it's nice for a change every once in awhile. To be girly every once in awhile."

"How are you feeling?" he asked. She sounded so tired.

"Sleepy," she said. "But I can do it. We're already done with the fifth hour."

"Fourth," he reminded her.

"Fourth?"

"Four hours. Twenty more to go."

"On the next break I'm going to get some coffee," she promised him.

"I'll get it for you. You sit down."

"Twenty more hours," she said softly, but determinedly. "I can do it."

* * *

While Andrew went to get some coffee from Luke, she sat on the bleachers with Sookie.

"You two are out already?" she asked.

Sookie shrugged. "We just came to get dressed up and dance a little. We weren't competing seriously. I knew I couldn't last more than a couple of songs." She touched her stomach. "I'm just staying to cheer on Lorelai and Mark." Then she giggled. "And you and Andrew, of course."

"Of course," Gypsy said. She could so easily close her eyes. Why was she so damned tired? Maybe she was getting old.

"I'm getting old," she said to Sookie.

"Why do you say that?"

"I'm exhausted."

"I'm exhausted too."

"You're pregnant. You have an excuse. And you're still perkier than I will ever be."

"Just because I'm perky doesn't mean I'm not tired."

"I guess not," she said. Then she sighed. "Keep me talking until Andrew gets back with coffee. Ask me anything."

"Anything?"

"Anything. And ask it quickly. And don't ask me something that can be answered with yes or no.

Ask me something that will require me to say more than one word."

"You're pushy."

"I'm desperate."

"Okay. I'll ask you something" Sookie said. "What's Andrew like in bed?"

"What?" Gypsy asked. Well that certainly woke her up. "Did you just ask me what I think you just asked me?"

Sookie laughed again. "I didn't know what else to ask you. I mean I guess I could have asked you why my car makes a weird gaspy noise when I drive it, but acts perfectly whenever Jackson drives it, but that would have put me right to sleep."

"Wow," Gypsy said. "I never expected you to ask me that."

Sookie grinned. "It can't be answered with a yes or a no now, can it?"

* * *

Andrew carried the two hot cups of coffee to where Gypsy and Sookie were talking. Suddenly they both looked up at him, both looking slightly embarrassed.

He wondered what that was about.

"Here you go," he told her handing her a cup. "Hey, Sookie."

"Hey Andrew," she said brightly. "You guys looked great out there."

"Thanks." He looked over at Gypsy who was gulping (gulping?) her hot coffee. "You know you don't have to drink that fast. I'm not going to take it away from you."

"The faster I drink," she explained, "the sooner the caffeine hits. The sooner the caffeine hits, the sooner my second wind begins." She swallowed the last of her drink as the buzzer rang again.

"Good luck you two," Sookie said. "Hey, Gypsy, you never answered my question."

Gypsy looked quickly at him, before looking back at Sookie. She replied, "I don't know yet. But I'm hoping that I will soon."

* * *

"Feeling better?" he asked her as they began dancing again.

"Yeah," she said. "Much better."

When the band began to play jazzier music, she let him twirl her around.

The caffeine was beginning to take effect.

And their fifth hour had begun.

* * *

It was about halfway through the sixth hour when she crashed again.

He realized it immediately. She seemed to stop dancing and start slumping. It was almost painful to watch.

This was her first dance marathon experience. He couldn't even remember his first marathon or how long he and his partner had lasted, but he doubted that they had lasted long.

They weren't going to win this thing, he realized. It was obvious that she was exhausted. He shouldn't push her if she wanted to quit. He began to feel guilty.

"Hey," he whispered. "If you want to stop, let me know. We can stop anytime."

She looked up at him. "I want to win."

"I know you do," he said. "I do too."

"I'm not done yet," she said. "But if you have any more tricks up your sleeve, now may be the time to bring them out."

"Well," he said. "I have one last idea."

"I'm all ears."

"Hang," he said.

"Hang?"

"Don't dance," he said. "Hang onto me."

It took her a second to understand him, but a second later she wrapped her arms around him tightly and just stood there. He kissed her forehead.

Another couple to the left of them stumbled and were disqualified. He didn't gloat. He was sure that they'd be out soon too.

* * *

Being allowed to hang onto him gave them more time, she thought to herself.

She wasn't ready to quit yet. The sixth hour had just ended. The marathon was one-fourth over and

they were still standing. Several couples had already lost. Good.

Talk. Andrew said they should talk to keep awake.

"How long have we known each other?" she asked him.

"I don't know," he said. "Maybe twenty years."

"Twenty years. That's crazy," she said. "You didn't grow up here, did you?"

"I moved here when I was sixteen," he told her.

"I've lived here all my life," she said. "Third generation Stars Hollow."

"It's an interesting place."

"Yeah. No kidding."

Her eyelids were getting heavy again. Focus, she told herself, focus on anything. She needed to do something, to keep her hands busy.

She moved her hand to the back of his neck, played with the soft hair underneath the wonderfully geeky hat he was wearing,

"You cut your hair," she said. "I like it."

"Thanks," he said. "It was getting too long."

She sighed and leaned back into him. He must have heard the sigh, because he asked, "How are you doing?"

"Tired, but not giving up yet."

"Just let me know," he said.

"Hey, if I quit, not that I'm saying I'm going to quit, are you planning on breaking up with me? Because I didn't help you get that trophy?"

"No," he said. "I am not going to break up with you if we don't win."

"Good," she said.

"I don't care that much about the marathon," he reassured her. "And besides you'd kick my ass if I did, right?"

"Damn straight," she said, and reassured, continued to hang onto him.

* * *

In theory, the hanging was a wonderful idea.

She didn't have to move, just had to cling to him like a barnacle.

It may have just been postponing the inevitable, but the longer they stood standing, the more couples fell and the better their chances were.

In reality, the hanging was a horrible idea.

He didn't realize that immediately. In his head, he was too busy congratulating himself for this masterful strategy, one that kept them in the game.

Halfway through the seventh hour, he began to understand what was wrong with the hanging.

Halfway through the seventh hour was when, exhausted himself, he began to focus on things that began to distract him.

She was so close to him and even through the thin material of her dress, he could feel how warm her skin was. This close, he could smell her perfume.

Sure, they had been dancing close before to the slow songs, but hanging was a different kind of close.

Halfway through the seventh hour was when he realized that he was very turned on.

Mind over matter, Andrew, he told himself. Mind over matter. Keep your head in the contest. Make sure she's doing okay and feeling okay, but keep a clear head.

He was strong and he could do this.

And then, tired, moving slightly, she pressed up against him.

He bit his lip. Mind over matter, he repeated as a mantra. Mind over matt-

She pressed up against him again. He began to feel dizzy.

"How far did you and Lisa go?" she asked suddenly.

"What?" he asked grateful for the question, any distraction.

Wait what did she just ask him? She didn't mean what he thought she meant, didn't she?

"In the marathon. How high did you place?"

Oh right. "Not that high," he said. "We'd always start fighting."

She began to play with his hair again. That wasn't helping. Oh sure, it felt nice. But it was making things worse.

"That must have sucked," she said. "I bet you really wanted to win then."

"I did."

"And you really want to win now," she said matter-of-factly.

"I don't care if we win," he said. After saying it, he realized it was true.

"You want to quit?" she asked.

One of her curls on the left side of her face was distracting him and he reached out to touch it. She smiled at him softly.

And instantly, the marathon was meaningless to him. All he wanted then was her.

"I want," he said, his voice barely over a whisper, "to take you home."

She didn't react. That confused him. He figured she would either say yes or slap him. Perhaps kick him in a place where it would really hurt. He assumed she'd have some reaction.

But no she just stared at him with dark, serious eyes.

And then she looked at him sadly.

Why did she look sad?

"Okay," she finally said. "I understand."

Apparently she didn't. How did she not get what he had meant? Well, she was tired.

Maybe he should clear up the confusion.

He leaned in and, using coarser language than he had possibly ever used, whispered into her ear exactly why he wanted to take her home. Whispered exactly what he wanted to do to her once they got home.

That cleared things up.

"Oh," she said. "So that's what you meant."

"That's what I meant."

"Okay," she said. "That sounds good." She reached back and ripped their team number off her dress. He did the same with his number.

He followed her as she marched up to where Taylor and Miss Patty were sitting.

"Here you go," she told them handing them their numbers.

They had lasted for seven hours.

* * *

She didn't say anything as they stepped outside.

It was freezing. She took a deep breath and let the cold air hit her.

She had been so tired before and just being outside was energizing her in a way that the cups of coffee hadn't.

Of course Andrew's proposition and the thought of what was to come probably played a part in her sudden burst of energy.

She looked over at him. He was frowning.

Why the hell was he frowning?

"What?"

He sighed. "Maybe this isn't the best idea for tonight. Today. Whatever. I mean if you're too tired…"

She faced him and clasped her hands in his. "I'm a little sleepy and my feet hurt, but I'm definitely not too tired."

"Really?"

"Really," she said and kissed him.

For extra measure, she also grabbed his ass.

You know, just to further convince him.

* * *

At his place, while he was kissing her and unzipping her red dress, he told her honestly, "I've wanted to do this since I saw you today."

She pulled the dress over her head. She smiled at his open-mouthed staring and shook her head at him. "That's nothing. I've wanted to do this for years."

* * *

The stupid uniform shirt he was wearing had too many buttons and her hands were fumbling with them. She cursed under her breath.

He momentarily stopped kissing her neck. "Problem?"

"I got it," she said.

Once she had gotten the shirt off, she gazed at him. He didn't have a gut on him, but he wasn't particularly built either. The hair on his chest, like the hair on his head, was graying.

But he was, she thought, as she touched him, as she kissed him, perfect.

* * *

"I think," he said. "That red may be my new favorite color."

She closed her eyes as he traced the outline of her bra, which was the same deep red hue of her dress. Her underwear matched as well. "I bought it when I bought the dress last month. I figured if I was going to be girly, I should go all out."

"It was a good decision," he said, sliding down the straps.

She agreed silently as he undid her bra. Definitely money well spent.

And then everything was off and he was kissing her and touching her again and she was sighing his name and then she stopped thinking much of anything for awhile.

* * *

"You've got the biggest smile on your face," she said, her voice hoarse.

He looked up from her stomach, which is where he had last kissed her. "I'm not surprised."

She sat up partially and kissed him again. "This is much better than the marathon. Don't you agree?" She kissed his shoulder.

"What marathon?" he asked.

This time she sat up completely and faced him. "There's only one thing that's wrong with this picture."

"What's that?"

She reached over and pulled down his boxers. This time he was the one to groan as she touched him.

"There," she said, caressing him again. "Much better."

If there was any blood reaching his brain, he probably would have agreed with her.

* * *

"You're beautiful," he told her.

She looked up at him, meeting his eyes, and pulled him even closer to her. "You're not so bad yourself," she managed to get out.

And then they stopped talking.

* * *

She opened her eyes. Between the seven hours of the dance marathon and the…well the recent exertion, she was exhausted. And starving.

She looked over at him to see if he was asleep. His eyes were closed. He also had a huge dopey smile on his face. Good. She took full credit for that smile.

She probably had the same stupid smile on her face. Next time she saw Sookie she would have to tell her that she had the answer to her question.

Pretty damn good, Sookie. He was pretty damn good.

He must have sensed her looking at him, because he opened his eyes. "Are you tired?" he asked her.

"Extremely tired. But I'm hungry too. But I think I want to sleep before I eat."

"Okay," he said. "Let's sleep for a few hours and then I'll make us breakfast. Or lunch. I have no idea what time it is."

"Me neither," she said.

"Are you warm enough?"

"Yes," she said curling in closer to him. He put his arm around her.

She closed her eyes again, resting her head on his chest.

"Did you mean what you said earlier?" he asked suddenly.

"What did I say?" she asked. She didn't move. It was so nice and warm where she was.

"About wanting to do this for years?"

She smiled. "Yeah, I meant it."

"So all those times you helped me with the charity book sales…you weren't that interested in stopping illiteracy?"

"Stopping illiteracy….getting you into bed…both noble, worthy causes in my book."

He laughed, looking both pleased and embarrassed. "And when you read letters from my girlfriend and told people the contents at the town meeting?"

"That was stupid of me," she told him. "I shouldn't have done that. I was just…curious."

He stroked her hair again, which had by now lost anything resembling curls. "One last question and then I'll let you get to sleep."

"Shoot."

"When you caused that fender bender we had a few months ago, was that just to get my attention too?"

She squeezed his hand. "Don't be silly," she told him, her voice full of affection. "We both know the fender bender was your fault."

The end


End file.
